by Donna Hill
“So it’s official. We both think we’re in love!”
Alex laughed along with her.
“And we are going to work real hard testing to find out if it’s the real thing.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“Me, too. Listen, get some rest and we’ll talk tomorrow. Okay?”
“Absolutely.” She yawned. “I’ll give you a call in the afternoon when I think you’re done at the clinic.”
“Cool. How’s the ankle?”
“Great. Feels really good. No swelling, no tenderness.”
“Excellent. You’ll be back on the track in no time.”
“It’s looking real good.”
“Well, good night, babe. Talk to you tomorrow.”
“Good night.” Thoughtfully she hung up the phone, a smile of pure contentment on her face. This love thing was truly wonderful and she wanted more of it.
Since Alex beat her to the punch with the phone call, she could relax. She went in the bathroom and ran the tub, humming to herself as she did. Life was looking really good to her.
Her life and her expectations for herself had changed dramatically since she’d met Alex. She felt confident about herself for the first time in her life. She was no longer terrified of not being able to run again. She finally understood that she was so much more than Kelly Maxwell the athlete. But her prominent status in the world of sports would serve her well with her plans. And she planned to capitalize on her name and notoriety.
Chapter 38
“When do you think Stephanie will be back?” Herb asked David.
David shut the drawer of his desk. “I told her to take a couple of days off. She needed the break. She’s been working really hard.”
Herb sat down opposite David. “I know this may be none of my business but there have been rumors running through the team.”
“There are always rumors,” he said reviewing the team schedule.
“But this one has to do with you and Stephanie.”
David looked up. “What rumor?”
“That you and Stephanie have something going on.”
“Of course we do. She’s my star at the moment and we work together. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Well according to the rumor mill it’s more than that. Apparently, Stephanie has been talking to some of her teammates.”
David clenched his jaw. “There’s nothing to it.”
Herb looked at him for a moment then stood. “I just thought you should know. It wouldn’t be good for you or the team if that got out.”
“Yeah, thanks. And don’t always believe what you hear.” He forced a smile.
“Sure.” Herb walked out.
David slammed his palm down on the desk. “Dammit.” He reached for the phone and dialed Stephanie’s number. It rang and rang until it went to her voice mail. David didn’t bother to leave a message.
He frowned looking off into space. He should have known better. He was thinking with the wrong head when it came to Stephanie and it could potentially blow up in his face. He shoved the schedule into the desk drawer, got up, grabbed his jacket and stormed out. He would settle this thing with Stephanie once and for all. He had enough problems as it stood. Kelly’d called him early that morning to let him know she was in town and she wanted all of her contracts. He’d deal with Kelly later. She said she’d be at his office around noon. First things first.
When he arrived at the complex where Stephanie lived he slowed. His heart raced. Police cars with lights flashing had blocked off the area. Slowly he got out of the car and walked up to the yellow tape that boldly announced Crime Scene in thick black letters. A small curious crowd had gathered.
David got the attention of one of the officers.
“What happened?”
“Who are you?”
“David Livingston. Has something happened to Stephanie?”
The officer stared at him then turned to one of the detectives. “Vinny!” He waved him over. Vinny approached.
“Yeah?”
“This guy is asking about the victim.”
Bile rose to David’s throat at the word victim.
Vinny looked at David. “Who are you?”
David repeated his name. “I’m her coach.”
Vinny lifted the yellow tape. “Come with me.”
David followed behind the detective. Just as he approached Stephanie’s front door a woman in the crowd who was being questioned shouted and pointed. “That’s him! He’s the one I was telling you about.”
David froze. Vinny turned and saw the look of panic on David’s face. Vinny frowned.
“This is the man you saw coming out of the house?” Vinny asked the woman.
“Yes, that’s him. I wouldn’t forget his face.” She glared at David.
Vinny took David by the arm then said to the cop taking the statement, “Get her down to the precinct and get her statement down on paper.” Then to David, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…”
Vinny tugged David’s hands behind his back and put the handcuffs on him. “You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, an attorney will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights?”
Everything after that was a blur.
Kelly was preparing to leave her house and go to training headquarters when she passed by the television and stopped cold.
The scene before her was surreal. She stepped closer to the set to make sure her eyes weren’t playing games with her. That was David being taken away in handcuffs. She quickly scanned the room for the remote and turned up the volume.
“Gold medal hopeful Stephanie Daniels was found dead in her town house this morning by police who received a call from a concerned neighbor. Police have just arrested David Livingston, the coach of the team, as a primary suspect in the death.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God.” What should she do? Who should she call?
Her phone rang. Alex!
She snatched up the phone. “Hello?”
“Ms. Maxwell, what are your feelings about the death of your competitor, Stephanie Daniels?” the voice asked.
She slammed down the phone. The reporters were after her already. She went to the window. A news van was camped out on the street in front of her house.
How did they even know she was back? She shook her head in disgust and dropped the curtain back in place. Nothing was safe from news-hungry reporters.
She went back in the living room and dialed Alex’s cell phone. His voice mail came on. She left him an urgent message to call her as soon as possible.
Kelly paced as she tried to figure out what to do. How could this have happened? David killed Stephanie? She couldn’t put it together in her head. It didn’t make sense. Why would he do that? She’d just spoken to him that morning. He’d sounded annoyed but had agreed to meet her.
Well, she certainly was not going to be held captive in her own house. She picked up her purse, checked to make sure she had her cell phone then went out to face the press.
The instant she stepped out her door, three reporters came gunning for her.
“Ms. Maxwell. Did you hear about the murder?”
“What are your feelings?”
“Do you think he did it?”
“Were they having an affair?”
“When did you get back in town?”
She ignored all the questions and jumped into her Navigator, hoping that it would start right up after having been idle for so long.
The reporters swarmed the truck, banging on the window as she started the engine and backed out of the driveway.
By the time she cleared the block she was shaking like a leaf, checking her rearview mirror every few seconds to monitor the cars behind her.
Her cell phone rang as she pulled up to the light.
She depressed the button on her headset. “Hello?”
“Hey, babe. What’s up?”
“Oh, Alex!” She nearly broke down and cried as she babbled what had occurred.
“Are you all right?” he asked, Kelly being his only concern.
“Just shook up.” She sniffed.
The news van was right behind her.
She made the next right toward the training facility. At least there she knew security would keep them out.
“Look, I’m going to rearrange my schedule and get on a flight out there as soon as I can.”
The idea of having Alex at her side calmed the jangles in her stomach. “Let me at least find out what’s going on first. I’m on my way to the camp now.”
“Dammit, I knew you shouldn’t have gone back there. There’s no way you’re not going to get swept up in this mess.”
“I’m here now. And I’ll deal with it.”
Alex blew out a frustrated breath. “You call me the minute you know what’s going on. And if you don’t have to stay I want you back here.”
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I want to be here for David. He may be a lot of things but…I do owe him.”
“What! After all he’s done to you over the years and you haven’t even seen the fine print in your contracts yet.” His voice boomed through the phone.
“I’m staying. I hope you’ll understand.”
“And if I don’t?” he challenged.
She didn’t want to deal with that possibility at the moment. “I’ll call you.” She disconnected the call.
When she arrived at the training camp reporters and police surrounded it. She showed her ID at the gate and drove onto the grounds.
She went directly to the main office. The team was gathered just outside David’s office. Someone she didn’t recognize was talking to them.
“Right now we don’t know much,” he was saying. “They’ve taken David into custody.”
Murmurs danced around the group.
Marcia noticed Kelly standing in the back of the crowd. “Kelly.”
All eyes turned in her direction.
Herb stepped through the group. He stuck out his hand. “I’m Herb Townes, the new assistant coach.”
“Kelly Maxwell.”
“I didn’t know you were coming back today. David said a couple of weeks.”
“I know. I had to…” She looked around at the expectant faces. She lowered her voice. “Can I speak with you?”
Herb nodded, put his hand on her shoulder and guided her inside his office. “Excuse me, everyone.” He waited until the team members stepped back before closing the door.
“What happened?” Kelly asked immediately.
Herb blew out a sigh and ran his hand across his short hair. “All I pretty much know is that they’ve arrested David, and Stephanie is dead.”
Kelly slowly sat down. “I spoke to him this morning and told him I was coming over.”
“Stephanie hadn’t been to practice in several days. I asked him about that this morning. He told me he gave her a few days off, said she needed the rest.”
“I can’t believe that David would do something like that. It’s all an ugly mistake. It has to be.”
“I’m sure once the police do a thorough investigation everything will be cleared up.”
Kelly nodded.
There was a knock on the door.
“Yes,” Herb barked. “Come in.”
The door eased open. Marcia poked her head in. “Sorry, but a Detective Scotto is here. He wants to talk to you.”
Herb opened his mouth but didn’t say anything. He looked at Kelly. “Uh, send him in.”
Kelly got up. “I’ll wait outside.” She got to the door as soon as Vinny Scotto arrived. She tried to walk around him. He looked her over from head to toe then pointed a finger at her.
“Maxwell, right? Kelly Maxwell.”
She nodded and tried to keep going.
“I’m going to need to speak with you, too.”
“Me? Why?”
“You’re a member of this team right?”
“Yes, but—”
“All the team members are being asked to hang around for questioning. So I guess that means you, too.” He shifted the toothpick from one side of his mouth to another.
Kelly swallowed. “Fine.”
She walked out and was quickly surrounded by her teammates. She assured them all that she was fine and was planning on returning for training shortly. The conversation quickly shifted to David and that’s when she heard about the alleged affair.
The group grew quiet when the office door opened and Detective Scotto stepped out followed by Herb.
Herb raised his hands above his head to get everyone’s attention. “Detective Scotto has something he wants to say.”
“As of right now every member on this team is being told not to leave the vicinity. My partner will be getting everyone’s name and contact information. You’ll be called into the station individually for questioning.”
Discordant grumbles and cries of disbelief were directed at Vinny Scotto.
“We’ll try to make the process as quick as possible. I’m sure that each of you want to help get to the bottom of what happened. There may be information you have that you are unaware of. It’s our job to get that information.” He glanced around at each of the faces. “I expect everyone’s cooperation.” He turned to Herb. “We’ll be in touch.” He walked away.
Kelly felt as if she’d stepped into a nightmare and couldn’t wake up.
Everyone was talking at once.
Herb held up his hands over his head. “Listen up, folks. The officer is going to take everyone’s names and contact information. They’ll let you know when you have to come in for questioning.”
“What’s gonna happen to Coach Livingston?” one of the guys asked.
“The team lawyer is working on that now. When I know something more, I’ll let everyone know. In the meantime, just line up at the door to my office.” He turned to Kelly. “I’m sorry you had to come back to all this.”
“Is it true about him and Stephanie?” she asked in a whisper.
Herb slowly shook his head. “I wish I knew for sure.”
A police officer stepped to the front of the group and Herb ushered him inside where he started taking information from each of the team members.
By the time Kelly was finally able to leave the training camp several hours later she was exhausted. She returned home and immediately turned on the news. The broadcast showed pictures of David being taken away in handcuffs earlier that morning and updated it with information stating that a witness had identified him as the man she saw coming out of Stephanie’s apartment following a loud argument. The reporter went on to say that there were distinct bruises on her neck and there were signs of sexual activity. An autopsy was scheduled for the following day. Stephanie Daniels was the reigning hopeful for the gold medal, this following an injury to the team’s female track star, Kelly Maxwell. However, Maxwell had returned to Atlanta and was seen going to the training camp earlier today. Her return would knock Stephanie Daniels back into the second slot. Police are investigating that angle as well. In the meantime, David Livingston was being held without bail.
Kelly turned off the television, feeling ill. Were they implying that she had some hand in Stephanie’s death for her own personal gain? She pressed her hands to her temples. This was insane.
Her phone rang. With great reluctance she p
icked it up.
“Ms. Maxwell?”
“Yes.”
“This is Detective Scotto, we met earlier today.”
“Yes.”
“I’d like you to come down to the Thirtieth Street stationhouse tomorrow morning around eleven. Does that work for you?”
She swallowed over the knot in her throat. “I’ll be there.”
“Good, see you then.”
Her head began to pound and she did something she hadn’t done in weeks, she stuffed herself with sweets and got rid of it all as soon as it went down.
Chapter 39
Dodging the gauntlet of reporters on her way to the station was exhausting enough, but nothing compared to the questioning posed by Detective Scotto.
“Make yourself comfortable Ms. Maxwell,” Scotto said, as he sipped on his cup of coffee. “Hopefully this won’t take too long.”
Kelly took a seat at the long scarred gray metal table and folded her hands in her lap.
“What exactly is your relationship to David Livingston?” he began right away.
“He’s my coach.”
“Is that it?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Is that all he is to you—your coach?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Hmm. There seems to be some question about that.” He looked at her.
“There shouldn’t be. There is nothing going on with us if that’s what you’re trying to imply.”
He sat down and flipped open a folder. “I see from my notes that he’s been your guardian since you were sixteen years old, is that correct?”
Her heart thumped. “Yes.”
“So he is more than just your coach.”
She didn’t respond.
“Would you say that the two of you had a special relationship?”
“I was very grateful to him for helping me, yes.”
“Grateful enough to ensure that you didn’t disappoint him in any way?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do.” He closed the folder and leaned forward, stared her in the eyes. “Having a winning team translates into millions of dollars for the team and for the coach. Isn’t that right?”
